Matchmaking the Babysitters (A snowbert story)
by elipotter18
Summary: This basically takes place during the crossover episode Crisis on Earth X with my take on how it would have gone if Caitlin wasn't feeling too good for the wedding rehearsal and Julian was asked to babysit the youngsters of the wedding guests. Their paths WILL cross during this fic. Hope you like please comment!
1. Chapter 1

Matchmaking the Babysitters (a Snowbert story)

 **Author's Note: In case I wasn't too clear (which I don't think I was) please don't get confused- no, Julian isn't the tailor. There are four people in the room in this chapter, Barry, Julian, the tailor, and his helper. Hope you like it :)**

"Listen, dude…" Barry paused as his tailor fixed his collar. "I know I'm asking a lot… but I really need you to do this- um, the button's a little tight." He told the tailor shortly. "Yeah, mate. It's your wedding day, I'd love to pitch in my part and everything… but staying at your house during the rehearsal…" Julian flicked a piece of dust off of his crisp coat. "I just don't know… I'd been hoping for a chance to talk to- the team. I've been gone for some months. Couldn't you possibly-"

"I've already told you, Julian," Barry interrupted. "I can't spare anyone else at the moment. You'll get to talk to Caitlin and everyone there at the actual wedding. To be honest, I'd rather chill at home than practice- I'm just… really nervous." "Who ever mentioned Caitlin?" Julian cut in almost aggressively, his eyes firmly focused on Barry's tie. Barry laughed. "You didn't have to. _What the hec_ k was that for?" he shouted suddenly as the tailor's assistant accidentally stabbed a needle through Barry's palm. "Sorry!" the tailor boy apologized hastily, rushing off to gather Band-Aids. "Yow!" Barry said, shaking his bleeding hand. Julian winced. "I'll get the soap…" he said helpfully. He returned a moment later with a basin of cool water and some soap in a bottle. "Rinse off," Julian directed, gripping Barry's wrist and dipping it into the cool liquid. "I guess it's a good thing one of our Team Doctor's is a dude, or I'd probably have bled to death in this store…" Barry chortled. "Yes, very lucky." Julian said absentmindedly washing the deep wound. The tailor, meanwhile, was hurriedly moving the impeccable clothing away from the crimson blood, at the same time scolding his sorry looking teenage helper.

"Great, I always wanted to be a groom at a mummy wedding." Barry said, once Julian had wrapped his hand in paper repeatedly. "Very exciting." Julian agreed automatically, turning to snap off his latex gloves and rinse his hands by a nearby sink. "So, will you do it?" Barry prodded when he came back. "I just don't think a kid will do very well with me- I'm not an ideal caretaker as you may have realized…" Julian explained. "You kidding? I don't think I would have made without you right now…" Barry shot back. Julian gave him an unamused look. "All exaggeration aside, though… I'm serious. You'll be fine. Besides- Iris is looking for a backup, I think. So if anything comes up, you've got them." Barry told him. Julian sighed.


	2. Chapter 2:

Matchmaking the Babysitters (a Snowbert story)

 **Please tell me what you thought! I think this chapter was a little bit slow, but it was sort of necessary…**

"Not alone, who's he kidding?" Julian grumbled, hopping into his car. He started the engine and pulled out of the Men's Clothing Department Extravaganza parking. "And just when I'd thought what a great scenario this would be to explain myself to Cait- the Team." Julian continued, stopping at a red light.

"Ugh," he groaned, his head in his hands briefly before he grabbed the steering wheel as the traffic light turned green. "I've really got to stop myself from thinking I'm only apologizing to her. She left me, it's not like I left." He told himself. "Right?" a tiny voice in his head piped up.

"Oh, shut up." Julian snapped irritably.

"And what sort of children will I be playing babysitter for?" he thought after a moment, a flash of snotty nosed children bawling on his leg appeared in his head. With a shudder, he shook himself out of it and pulled into his old house. Yes, he had kept it. Even after moving back to London. Just in case something like this came up.

Because deep down, Julian has been hoping for a chance to escape the grasp of his past with the Sorcerer's Stone and back to where his bright future had begun- where all his Star Labs friends resided. Central City just- had that sort of feeling that Julian had been searching for his entire life.

Sighing, he went in. It was a plain enough house, with kaki colored walls and an occasional painting. All was dark, and a green little beep from his answering machine let him now that someone had left a message for him on his home phone. Not inclined enough to care, and an uneasy feeling creeping into his senses, he kicked off his shoes and lay his head back on his dull colored couch. The house was cool.

Maybe a little too cold. So he cranked up the heat, grabbed a fluffy blanket, and sat back down to enjoy his newly made hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows (that Snart himself would have been proud of). All alone.

Slowly, his eyes slid closed, the chocolate doing its job. Feeling pleasantly warm now, Julian nodded off to sleep.

"Tomorrow will be fun…" he thought bitterly, smiling despite his fatigue.

Meanwhile…

Iris bustled back and forth arms laden with flowers and papers. Pausing to check her reflection quickly in the mirror, Caitlin came up behind her. "Hey…" the Snow said sheepishly, walking up to her friend apprehensively.

"Oh! Hey!" Iris greeted, dropping some leaflets as she did so. "What's up?"

Caitlin swiftly gathered the runaway papers and said, "I know this is on really short notice, but do you think that I could skip the rehearsal tonight? I have a bit of a cold and I'd prefer to sleep it off."

"Will you be ok tomorrow? I can't really you know, do without you…" Iris trailed off.

"Yeah! I think it's just one of those day long flu's, I'm feeling a bit better already." Caitlin assured her quickly, relieved the bride had not reacted angrily. "Sure! Yeah, go sleep. Get better." Iris said eagerly. Caitlin laughed at the other woman's bluntness.

"Great, thanks, see you later." She said instead. "Yeah, yeah… I know! Why don't you stay at my dad's? There won't be anyone there but my cousin's little kids and a babysitter. That way, we can contact you all at once!" Iris suggested reasonably.

Caitlin hesitated. "I don't know how quick I'll recover with noise…" she began.

"Oh no! My cousin, Edna's son is a sweetie pie, he's only five. And she's got a three month old baby too- Alice. Last I saw him, Tim's happy doing a nice, quiet game. He always brings his dinosaur puzzle around and he's super cute." Iris explained at once.

"Um…" Caitlin said uncomfortably. "Won't the be babysitter be insulted that I'm there too? Like- you don't trust her enough?"

"Not it I tell her you're only there to rest and to keep the kids away from your room… and speaking of babysitters, I really hope Barry talked to someone…" Iris admitted.

"I'm sure he did!" Caitlin put in, knowing how good it would do to calm Iris' nerves as much as possible. Stuck in this thought, she blurted, "And if not, you've got me."

"Aw really?" Iris relaxed visibly. "You're such a lifesaver, Caitlin. I'm so glad I made you my maid of honor. I have no idea what we'd do without you…"

"Uh… yeah. No problem. I-I'm just happy to… happy to help!" Caitlin stammered.

"See you, Caitlin! Thanks again… I'm going to call Dad to let him know…" Iris pulled out her phone. "Have a good nap!"

"Th-thanks." And Caitlin turned on her heel and stumbled out.

"Why am I so nervous?" she asked herself as she waited for her bus home at the stop. "It's just a bunch of kids who'll probably have a babysitter." _The babysitter._ Something tweaked Caitlin's curiosity as to who it would be.

Cisco? No, he was Barry's best man. And Wally and Joe definitely couldn't miss it. Jesse couldn't make it and neither could Gypsy. So who was it?

With a little shake, Caitlin forced herself to think of other things. But the feeling that staying at Joe's house while the others went to the rehearsal being a bad idea never completely left her.


	3. Chapter 3

Matchmaking the Babysitters

"It's a wedding, Mum…" Julian said tensely. "So that's why you blew off a billion pounds of ours, is it?" his mother demanded. Gritting his teeth, Julian replied, "It was ten dollars."

"That's not what my vault says!" screeched the woman. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry. Have a good evening, then." Julian mumbled into the phone, cheeks burning, irked.

"No, that's not all! What is this I hear of you staying in Central City again?" his mother asked.

"Um… ah." Julian opened his mouth and then closed it, nonplussed. "The connection's getting rough… it's bad here… what was that? Mum? I can't- I can't really hear you… Mother… I can't hear. I have to hang up. Call another time…" he imitated a crackly noise by crunching a piece of construction paper in his fist and then unrolling it smoothly out on his desk.

Then he hung up on her shamelessly.

"I never thought the day would come when I couldn't buy a scarf for myself…and the fact that I'm jobless and living off her earnings isn't my fault either. Although, I was an idiot to believe her when she said Dad wanted to see me…" Julian pulled on his coat. "Whatever. I'd best be off." And then shuffled out. The chilly air made his breath come out in puffs of air, which along with the uneasy feeling of confronting the rest of the team made the collected British man a mess on the inside.

On the outside, though, he looked presentable. His clothes were neat and so was his hair. He arranged his scarf and shot off in his car.

"Julian! So glad you're here, Bud. Come on in." Barry welcomed, giving Julian a firm handshake. "Hello, yes. Hi." Julian greeted everyone. "Detective," he tilted his head at the watery eyes man. Joe cleared his throat. "Hey Julian." He managed to croak. Cecile took his arm comfortingly.

"Evening. Evening everyone. Ah, Cisco!" Julian gave his friend a hug. "You and I?" Cisco motioned with his finger between them. "We're gonna talk after this."

"Yeah- yes. You bet. Absolutely." Julian stuttered, fixing the handkerchief in his own chest pocket. "Cool." Cisco said with a shrug, every bit the dignified right man for the event.

"Hi! Are you Julian?" a plump woman in a tight red dress hurried forward, pushing a shy little boy in front of her.

"Yes, I am. And you are?" Julian asked. "Edna. And this is Timothy. Tim, why don't you give Mr. Albert a smile?" the beaming woman prodded her son.

Tim gave Julian the tiniest of smiles obediently, and then dropped his gaze to the ground. "Isn't he cute?" Cecile asked, coming up behind Julian.

Julian nodded. _Looks_. Looks were one thing. He desperately hoped Tim's behavior would comply.

"Sweet looking, yes. But I sure do wonder what he's really like when his parents have gone for the night and I'm the one left to deal with him…" he thought.

"I'm Dr. Rodenick- Edna's husband." A thin man, much more resembling the scrawny Tim than his mother- only older, gracefully crossed the room and introduced himself, cradling a very small baby against his stomach.

"Pleasure meeting you, sir." Julian said, licking his dry lips as his own stomach churned. That baby looked so fragile. "I assume this is Alice?" he said of the child.

"She is indeed." Julian noticed that when Dr. Rodenick smiled, the creases in his eyes lit up his whole face so that he smiled with his eyes too. He seemed a kind enough man. But his reaction if he returned and found one of his kids with a scratch, Julian did not want to find out.

"Here- would you like to hold her?" Julian was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Dr. Rodenick holding out the baby towards him.

"N-now?" he stammered. "Of course! How else do you expect on letting us make our escape?" Edna chimed in. "Oh. Right. So silly of me…" Julian forced himself to reach for the sleeping infant as calmly as he could, managing to keep his hands from shaking, all the while internally screaming "BARRY!" He would never do another favor for the man, he vowed.

"Here-hold the head- that's right… use the other hand to support the back… you're a natural, Albert! I don't suppose you have any children of your own?" Dr. Rodenick asked casually.

Julian spit out the drink he had been sipping, half choking, and wiped the liquid off of himself. Luckily, it had all but missed the family in front of him and the little Alice in his arms.

"Me?" he asked sharply, after a moment, nearly dropping the baby.

"No sudden movements, please. Her neck is still unused to it. And she might wake, and we all don't want that…" Dr. Rodenick gently corrected Julian's grip on the baby.

Julian transitioned to it rather clumsily, but Alice's parents seemed to take no notice. They seemed more intent on leaving their children for the evening.

"Yes, right… sorry. No, I don't have any children, actually." Julian responded, finally managing in composing himself.

"Yes, that's better. Se young…" Edna murmured. "Erm…" Julian flushed, unsure what to reply, but happy to have something to do with his hands instead of fidget, rocking Alice.

"Well, anyhow, you seem to have some experience. Oh that's right! Barry's told us that you were a field medic!" Dr. Rodenick recalled.

"That's right." Julian confirmed confidently, but his eyes were elsewhere- in the mob of people surrounding the to -be wedded Allen and Iris. His eyes were scanning, searching… searching, searching.

"Oh! Dear me! I nearly forgot that! Well, that does make us very convinced that our children will be in good care…" Edna exclaimed, although Julian noted that her wild expression whenever she glanced at the door behind her revealed that she truly needed no convincing and that as much as she loved her children, she was just about fed up with being with the two 24/7.

"Um… I'm glad that it does." Julian said awkwardly as this realization came to him, along with the lack of her honest trust.

"Hey, man… we're off." Barry clapped a hand onto Julian's shoulder, emerging with some difficulty from the strangling group of people fussing over him.

"Yeah. Have fun, you lot." Julian said, deciding that Caitlin must have gone to the church for the rehearsal ahead of the others. That thought seemed to have a calming effect on him, as he surprisingly but expertly maneuvered Alice into the crook of his elbow, saying his goodbye's with the other arm.

"Don't get into too much trouble, Malfoy." Cisco said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Back at you. And… don't call me that, yeah? It's stupid." Julian corrected.

Cisco repeated the name annoyingly and hurried out. Julian rolled his eyes. Last to leave was Iris, Edna, and Dr. Rodenick. The couple lingered behind, whispering comforting words to their scared looking son.

Iris remained firmly planted by Julian's elbow, and no matter how many of her family member had tried to pull her out, had remained stubbornly there, waiting for the crowds to start moving out to have a private word with Julian.

"Julian- by the way-" she began. "Iris!" Cecile said from the door, waving her over. Iris shook her head. "One second." She mouthed to her step mom through the glass in the window.

"Cai-" Iris tried again. "Sorry, what?" Julian seemed to have just noticed her, touching his brow, looking stressed.

"Iris! Come on. Sweetheart!" Cecile actually came back to the house from the garage and threw open the door. "Let's go." She told Iris sternly. Left with little choice, Iris gave the puzzled Julian an apologetic glance over her shoulder as she was pulled away.

"Wish me luck," she was able to say before shutting the car door behind herself.

"Good luck…" Julian replied hoarsely. And Iris, Joe, and Cecile rushed out into the night, car lights swinging onto the road.

Little by little, the grey gravel crunched as cars zoomed away in pursuit of their hosts.

"Timmy, be good for Mama, yes?" Edna was saying hurriedly to her son.

"Yes, Mama." Timmy squeaked. It was obvious he was very frightened by the prospect of being separated from either parent, let alone both.

Dr. Rodenick kissed his daughter a last time and mussed his son's light brown hair after a short hug.

"You two behave yourselves for Mr. Albert." Edna said sternly, shaking a finger in the disheveled looking Tim's face. Tim nodded shakily. "Yes, Mama." He repeated, even more quietly this time.

"Good." The children's mother said, then turning to Julian, watched her husband scribble a card for the sitter. "Here. If anything comes up, call me." Dr. Rodenick instructed, thrusting the card (that had his number scrawled on it) into Julian's arms.

Julian sensed restlessness.

"Must be a Central City resident…" he thought with a wry smile, slipping the little piece of paper into his pocket.

"Oh- look! Amy forgot her purse! She'll be so worried! I'm going to see if I can catch her on the main road…" Edna began, flying out almost too eagerly.

Julian was definitely not comforted by that action. How bad could two innocent looking kids be?

"We can't thank you enough, Julian. Alice's bottle is in the fridge and Tim will eat anything you can throw together." Dr. Rodenick said, succeeding at calming Julian a bit better than his wife.

"Brilliant. Have a good time, then, Dr." Julian said, his voice clipped with dread.

"Ok. Bye, Tim! Bye Alice!" and the Doctor left, closing the door softly behind himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Matchmaking the Babysitters Chp.5

"So…what do you like doing?" Julian asked the pale little boy in front of him. "Not much." He replied. "Ok… do-do you like-er… cookies? Do you want me to grab you a cookie?" Julian questioned. "My mama says it's not good to eat a cookie before dinner. And I definitely don't want to spoil my dinner…" Tim said. "Oh, right. That makes a lot of sense- yeah. Do you want to color?" Julian asked instead. "Alright. On what?" Tim wondered. "How about- on some paper? Oooh…" Julian crouched by a shelf.

"I'm not stupid, you know… I know what I'm supposed to color on, I was only asking where it was." Tim said, ears pink. "Let's see…" Julian ignored the comment and rummaged the shelves in the sitting room. "Blimey! Where does the detective keep his drawing paper?" he demanded after a moment. Tim giggled.

"Maybe he doesn't have any." The child remarked, eyes wide. "Perhaps. But what's so funny about that, then?" Julian prodded. "Mr. Detective West is a grownup, after all. Grownups tend to be a little- what's the word- oh yes! Dull and sort of…boring…" Tim replied. "Really?" Julian raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Yes, really!" Tim told him with a knowing nod. "Well, I'll be sure to prove you wrong then…" Julian decided. "Not likely." Tim answered. "I bet I can." Julian retorted. "Doubt it." Tim said. "Really, Mr. Albert, please don't count on it. You'll only end up disappointing yourself."

"We'll see about that…" Julian said, mentally accepting the challenge. "But didn't you already know that?" Tim asked him seriously. "Know what?" Julian said absentmindedly. "About adults being, you know, like that. I thought it was a rule or something, I thought you would've known about it. You- you are a grownup, right?" Tim asked suspiciously. "I sure am." Julian said with a chuckle. "Here. Wait here while I go look downstairs."

"For the paper?" Tim asked. "That's right." Julian gently lying the sleeping Alice on the crib her parents had set up for her some hours before, and slipped down the stairs to the basement.

"Now where exactly are those bloody lights?" he said to himself, staggering blindly around in the damp bottom floor. "Aha!" he said triumphantly, turning them on the second he managed to locate them on the wall.

He stepped back into the TV room and blinked, shocked. Someone had his back to him, supposedly asleep on their side on the couch. Julian took a step back and closed his eyes, hoping, no- willing, the figure to disappear, like a mirage.

When he opened his eyes, the silhouette was still there, hood pulled up to hide the person's hair and face. A thick blanked covered the person, revealing nothing about the human underneath it- male or female, old or young, or if this even was a person- though Julian was quite sure that it was. Completely clueless as to who the person could be, Julian stood by the door.

"No one said anything about anyone else staying behind…" he mused.

Julian's brain was whirring a million miles a minute, weighing his options. "Attack, you've got children upstairs… and Iris or Allen would have definitely told you if someone else was in the house…" one part of him said. The other part seemed to say something along the lines of, "Are you crazy? What if this Iris' grandma or something? It could be virtually anyone!"

"Um- Mr. Julian?" As if on cue, Time waddled in, Alice in his arms. "I think she needs a change of diap-"

"Stay back…" Julian warned, flinging an arm out to stop the children. Looking scared, and having seen the stranger, Tim cowered back with a whimper. "Ok, ok…" Julian jumped up and down, stretching his sore muscles. He had decided on his first option- Tim and Alice were in danger, their parents would thank him for immediate action, he was sure.

Without any sign, Julian leaped onto the figure in a tackle a pro football player would have been proud of. But he was careful not to put his weight on the person, keeping in mind that it might be Iris' grandmother or any wedding guest, to be honest. It was a risk, no one liked being woken up by a person tackling them, and Julian preferred to keep out of trouble if he could avoid it, as much as he had a good excuse waiting out in the hall.

Adrenaline flowing through his veins, he turned the person to lay flat on his or her stomach as he pinned down the person's wrists. The figure beneath him was awake now, and putting up a fight- struggling, wriggling to free their arms and bucking their hips. "Gotcha." Julian panted, feeling pretty heroic. "Get off me!" a muffled voice screamed.

Uh oh. "Great…" Julian mumbled, bravado falling. He knew that voice. _He knew that voice_. Caught off guard, he was shoved off roughly. He leapt to his feet and dropped his protective stance. "Julian?!" the figure demanded, sitting up and spitting her hair out of her mouth.

Julian's throat went dry. "Uh… h-hey, Caitlin… what's up?" he tried to assume a casual pose, leaning against the door frame leisurely.

"I could freeze you right now…" Caitlin growled, corning the British man. Lunging for him furiously, she tripped and would have gone sprawling is she hadn't had Julian's sweater to hold onto. "Got you right where I want you…" Caitlin, or rather, Killer Frost by now, hissed.

"Whew! It's just Caitlin, Mr. Julian. She's a friend of Auntie Iris's." Tim walked in, looking relieved. His eyebrows shot up as he saw the inconvenient position of his sitter and aunt's friend. Tim squinted.

"Yuck! Is she, like, your girlfriend?" he asked as Killer Frost payed no attention to him, tracing an icy finger down Julian's jawline, obviously enjoying the opportunity to torture him.

"No! Nope, not at all." Julian denied, horrified, trying to block out the stinging feeling Frost's finger had trailed along his face. He really hoped Tim wasn't the kind of kid who blabbered everything out to everyone.

This seemed to jolt the Killer Frost away and Caitlin stood in her place, brown eyes flashing angrily. As much as she wasn't trying to make Julian a Popsicle, she seemed even more upset than her meta half had.

She stood up and pushed him away, sending Julian stumbling back. "Ow!" Julian grimaced but did not touch the icy handprint that she left on his arm. Tim's eyes widened. "Wow. Does she- hate you?" he inquired in an almost annoying, polite tone.

"Oh, no…" Julian said at the same time as Caitlin said, "Let's just say we're not on talking terms…"

Julian laughed hoarsely. "She's only kidding." He explained. "Am I?" Caitlin asked.

Tim looked confused.


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe Iris would do this to me!" Caitlin exclaimed, pulling out her Apple to text her friend.

 _Iris!_! After a few moments, the grey answering bubble popped up, signifying that Iris was responding.

Julian winced as he imagined all of the guests pausing their rehearsal as the bride bent over her phone.

 _Is something up?_ Iris finally texted back.

 _YES_ , Caitlin replied, _AND HE'S STARING RIGHT AT ME WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU GET HIM TO STAY HERE?_

"Are you playing a game?" Tim asked restlessly, standing on his toes to strain his eyes to see better.

"No," Julian remarked tensely. "She's not."

"Then why's she look so mad?" Tim wondered.

"Um…" Julian began, looking for something to stall his answer with.

Tim gasped. "Is it because I've done something wrong?" he asked.

"No. No, she is playing a game." Julian lied, sensing Tim was close to tears. "And she's losing horribly. That's why."

 _Listen, girl…_ Iris texted Caitlin. _Don't run from your problems, you and Julian figure this all out and then we'll be back before you know it!_

"I hate you…" Caitlin growled under her breath, staring daggers at her phone.

"What did I do?" Tim asked, his lower lip quivering.

"He thinks you're mad at him." Julian explained half heartedly.

"What? Of course I'm not mad at you sweetheart…" Caitlin's voice changed completely as she cupped Tim's cheek.

"Then why are you being so grumpy?" Tim inquired.

"I-" Caitlin bit the inside of her cheek.

"Is it too late to apologize?" Julian put his arms tentatively around Caitlin.

Caitlin didn't answer, but pushed Julian back.

"Cait…" Julian took a step forwards, looking defeated and tired.

"There's a kid watching, Albert, keep it pg." Caitlin hissed.

"Watch. Tim's smart. Hey, Tim… do you know what I'm doing?" Julian asked the little child.

"Yes." Tim replied evenly.

Caitlin's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Hm? And what's that, then?" Julian asked.

"You're giving her a hug- so she feels better! My mommy says a hug _always_ helps…" Tim turned to Caitlin. "So, you should probably stop pushing him and let him do it…"

Julian's jaw dropped but her recovered fast.

"Tsk, tsk… Caitlin, what's it come to… taking advice from a four year old…" he said, glancing at Caitlin to see her reaction.

Caitlin was smiling. "Revenge is sweet…" she mouthed at him. "Maybe," she answered. "But I don't take hugs from people who-" Left? Gave up, abandoned the team? Took off my power dampener? "Who are mean to me…" she told Tim in little kid language instead.

"He was mean?" Tim frowned, thinking it over. "Ok. Mr. Albert, you need a time out!" he declared, pointing at a chair by the wall.

"I don't! What'd I do, I'd like to know!" he spluttered.

"Hey, yeah… Ms. Snow, what did he do?" Tim turned back to Caitlin.

"Well," Caitlin paused, changing her quick thoughts into words Tim would understand and then condemn Julian for. Having Tim get angry for her was cute to watch. Plus, it was funny to see Julian get flustered with his answers. "He took away my favorite crayon."

"I'm guessing you're referring to the dampener…" Julian huffed quietly as Tim stumbled back in horror.

"Was it purple?" he demanded. It seemed to be his favorite color from the way he was dressed from head to toe.

"What?!" Caitlin shook herself out of it and looked down. "Uh- yes! It was…" Anything to get more of a reaction.

Tim scrunched up his face in anger.

"Now look what you've done…" Julian accused the young Snow as Tim looked ready to hit something.

Suddenly, his foot landed on Julian's shin. Julian lifted his leg a little off the ground instinctively. He wobbled precariously and fell back against the brown couch.

He sat up rubbing his head. "Ok? What was that for?" he asked.

"You stole her crayon!" Tim shrieked, hopping onto Julian and pummeling him with his tiny fists.

Julian couldn't help but laugh at such a strange little child who thought he was such a bold fighter.

Biting her lip against a laugh now too, Caitlin picked Tim off of Julian easily.

"That's enough… I think he got the message…" she said gently.

"Apologize." Tim demanded.

"I'm sorry…" Julian told Caitlin truthfully. He picked his next words very carefully. "Although she did leave me all alone at the playground once."

"What? Were you scared?" Tim breathed.

"A little. Yes, I was. I was scared and alone. And what makes it so much worse is that I'd worked so long on making a bandaid for Ms. Snow's cut- she… fell down the slide. Anyways… and when I finally gave it to her, she threw the band aid on the floor and ran away. She left me. That band aid was me, saying sorry for her lost crayon." Julian replied.

Tim looked up at Caitlin resentfully.

"My teacher would probably wack you both with rulers…." he mused.

Julian snorted.

"So she said you weren't her friend anymore? And left you?" Tim clarified.

"Something like that." Julian muttered, eyes on the ground, very aware that Caitlin was looking at him.

"That wasn't very nice…" Tim reprimanded Caitlin.

"I know, I know… but I just wanted to let my cut air out a little before bandaging… and I left because… I didn't want him to follow me and-" Caitlin bit back a grin. "And fall down the slide, as Julian put it." Caitlin played with her purse. "I didn't want him to get hurt…"

"Mate, you could be a psychologist!" Julian said loudly, feeling the room get warmer. "Have you ever considered that as a career choice?"

"I've only really ever considered finishing kindergarten, so far, sir. But… thank you for the suggestion, I'll look to you when I need a recommendation letter for college." Tim replied.

"Right, makes sense." Julian chortled.

"Will you listen to me?" Caitlin demanded, bringing them back to their conversation.

"Yes, let's." Tim sat criss cross applesauce.

"Um… ok. Please, go on." Julian answered.

"I told you not to take of my necklace." Caitlin told him heatedly. "He stole one of my crayons and a necklace, Tim."

"OI! Objection, objection!" Julian exclaimed.

"What? You stole my necklace!" Caitlin said incredulously.

"Yes, but I didn't steal anything else, if you want to do it this way, on realistic terms, then substitute 'crayon' for 'jewelry', yeah? Because you're making me seem like some psycho thief…" Julian grumbled.

Tim giggled.

"And besides," Julian said, exasperated. "You stole the rock I spent my whole life looking for!"

"I said I was sorry…" Caitlin replied, looking pained. "You just never formally forgave me."

"I never got the chance!" Julian exclaimed.

The two panted, staring at each other in silence.

"I can tell misunderstandings are key here." Tim noted slowly.

Julian and Caitlin gave him a look.

"Are you eighty?" Julian blurted.

"No, just highly observant." Tim answered.

"Listen, I'm done here…" Julian said dismissively, making to go for the stairs.

"WAIT!" Tim shouted, blocking the door with his tiny form.

"What is it now?" Julian asked, running a hand through his hair roughly.

"Don't give up, you're both so close... " Tim whispered.

Julian chuckled. "No, sorry… she's never going to change her mind about us- being friends again." he said.

"Yeah huh! Look at her- sir. She wants to be friends again!" Tim pressed. "And… so do you."

Julian sighed, shaking his head.

"Ms. Caitlin?" Tim asked for support.

Caitlin did not say anything.

"If she wanted to be friends she would have said so before…" Julian remarked, voice raising an octave.

"You left." Caitlin shot.

"No, you left." Julian retorted.

"You made me Frost again! She's a monster!" Caitlin countered swiftly.

"You risked making me one by keeping the Philosopher's stone, Caitlin…" Julian replied, flushed.

"We all make mistakes! I owned up to it- you didn't! And- and I tried to make up for it!" Caitlin said shakily.

"I saved your life by taking off the necklace, Caitlin!" Julian snarled.

"Uh oh…" Tim said.

"I could have killed you!" Caitlin shouted.

"Well you didn't, did you? I couldn't very well stand back and just let things progress- no!" Julian broke off, burying his face in his hands with a groan. "I made you a cure, but you didn't take it. You said you never loved me."

"That's not true…" Caitlin pressed.

"That's what you made it out to…" Julian told her.

Silence.

Just then, Alice let out a shrill wail from the hall.

"Um." Julian shifted his weight.

"I'll get her." Tim piped up.

"I'm sorry." Caitlin and Julian said in unison, the second he stepped out.


End file.
